Trips to Russia and Ukraine

I spent 10 months on Moscow in 2006-2007, during my junior year in college. I was at a small college which didn't have a real exchange program with Russia, so I was enrolled directly at in a program of Russian for foreigners. I lived in a Russian общежитие (dormitory) with mostly Russian students, and I didn't really know many other English-speakers. I always feel really proud of how much I grew up that year...it wasn't easy, but it was definitely one of the most important experiences of my life. On that trip, I traveled to St. Petersburg (Санкт-Петербург) and Nizhny Novgorod (Нижний Новгород; highly recommend!).

I spent another month in Moscow and Ukraine (mostly Kiev and Lviv; Киев and Львов in Russian) in summer 2009. Also a good trip! I stayed with friends in Moscow, but spent most of my days solo. I went to Ukraine (Украина) on my own as well.

Are Russians hostile to foreigners?

That was not my experience while I was there. These were the Bush years, and I do remember one person (a friend's father) getting pretty hot about "америкосы" (gringos, Yankees) and Afghanistan after a few drinks, but I didn't feel physically unsafe. However, the current political atmosphere feels a lot more tense, so I'd probably be be cautious about identifying myself as an American around strangers. My other caveat would be that my experience was as a white person, which is unfortunately a privileged position when it comes to safe travel in Russia...I had a couple dark-skinned friends from the dormitory who were assaulted or harassed.

How can I stay safe?

Moscow is probably not different from other big cities in this respect. Stay aware of your surroundings, and don't look naive. I had a "trolleybus (троллейбус) face"...No smile, eyes unfocused but always looking around. I used a small purse with a high arm strap for my money and passport, and I kept it tight under my arm at all times. If I was carrying anything bigger, I used an ugly-looking tote, or пакет. My friend was pick-pocketed on the bus, and she didn't find out until it was too late because her purse was hanging around the back of her hip where she couldn't see or feel it.

How much Russian do I need to know?

It definitely depends on what your goals are and how well you handle discomfort and awkwardness, but I would recommend learning as much as you can. I think Russia is a much harder place to visit without knowing the language than Western Europe. Having money or sticking with a tour group or student group would be good ways around this.

I wanted to travel solo, make my own plans, and learn Russian, and I would not have been able to do those things if I wasn't already at a pretty solid intermediate-level when I arrived. Even if your goals are less ambitious, I think you'll get a lot more out of Russia if you can at least read a map or menu. Learn to read Cyrillic if nothing else...it really won't take more than a couple hours!

How can I keep in touch with friends and family?

I'm sure this has all changed since I was in Moscow! I did not have a cell phone in the US at the time, so I bought the cheapest Russian cell phone I could find and a Russian SIM card as soon as I arrived in Moscow. I called home about once a month (minutes were expensive!) and mostly used the phone to text my friends in Russia. I didn't have a computer at the time, but would stop by an internet-cafe once every week or two.

Are food and water safe?

I avoided cold tap water (as did my Russian friends) but drank tea made from tap water constantly. Russian food is great, and I ate all of it. I gained 20 pounds during my year in Russia! I ate lots of inexpensive cafeteria lunches, street food, mysterious pickles from open-air markets, and never had any trouble. Use common sense, but I wouldn't worry too much about food poisoning.

What's the best way of getting around?

I would be careful about taxis, especially as a young woman travelling alone. I had a couple unpleasant sexual harassment situations during my year in Moscow, and the scariest one was in a taxi, after the friend I had been out with that evening got dropped off. I haven't researched whether Uber is safer now, but I would not hail an unmarked taxi or ride alone in one (especially late at night, especially after drinking).

In Moscow, I think the Metro (метро) is the best way to get around. I used it daily, often alone, after dark, or after drinking, and never ran into any trouble. The bus, trolley, and tram all felt safe and ran frequently also (and sometimes you get some great window-views). This was true in Moscow and in the other cities I visited.

Some background information on me

My first trip to a Russian speaking country was when I was 16. My father asked me if I wanted to join him on a business trip to Ukraine. I didn't know the language back then and would've never guessed that less than 10 years later I'd be speaking Russian.

6 years after that a Russian speaking colleague taught me some Russian words over a couple of beers in a bar. I got interested and soon found myself learning some phrases and sentences on my own.

A year later I met a Russian girl while studying in Madrid and before I knew it I was invited to meet her parents in Russia.

In 2016 I flew for the first time to Moscow. I stayed there for 1 week and went for 2 days to St. Petersburg and a couple of days to Crimea (Крым).

Over the last 2 years I have been to Russia 5 more times. Mostly just in Moscow, but I also went on a road trip on the Golden Ring (Золотое Кольцо).

My latest Russian adventure was fishing (рыбалка) in Norway with my father in law and some of his friends. (it was an intense 5-day course in Russian !😉

Image via Pixabay

Is it dangerous for foreigners to travel to Russia? Will people be hostile to me because of where I'm from?

Everywhere I've been it has always felt safe to me. Maybe a bit less than in Holland (Голландия), but nothing to be worried about. My girlfriend told me there are several neighborhoods in Moscow that are better not to go to at night---but every large city has those.

Even in Crimea I never felt threatened. Even though the European governments are warning that it is practically a war-zone. Yes, you might see some tanks and soldiers on the road (because there are several military bases located there). But as long as you're not causing trouble and have a native Russian with you (if you don't speak the language fluently), you should be fine.

The only occasion when things got a little heated was when we were waiting in line for a Moscow nightclub (ночной клуб). Some Russian guys started talking to my girlfriend and my Russian wasn't good enough to calm them down.

However, after they found out that I was from the Netherlands they told me their dream was to travel to Amsterdam one day---and everything turned out fine.

So I'd say that Russia isn't all that dangerous as the media makes you believe. It might've been different 20 years ago---but today if you're not actively looking for trouble, you won't have to worry.

With that said, I can imagine that the experience would be different for people with a different ethnic background or a different sexual orientation.

How can I stay safe and keep my money?

Same thing as for other large places, don't keep your money (деньги) or wallet (кошелëк) out in the open. Keep a good eye on your surroundings---especially when somebody talks to you on the street or bumps into you.

On a different note, if you're in smaller villages or poorer areas, I think it's a good idea to not look like you've got money. So keep the brand clothes at home and maybe take your watch off. To be on the safe side it's also better, if possible, to have a native Russian speaker with you in those places and/or at night.

How much Russian do I need to know?

In all honesty, you don't really need to know much Russian to have a good time. Especially if you're staying in Moscow or Saint Petersburg with a Russian native speaker who also knows English. Although you should make sure that you know at least the Cyrillic alphabet (it's easy to learn in a couple of hours).

However, with every extra couple of words or phrases in Russian that you know, your trip will become even more fun. So try to get the basics down and then work your way from there:

How to introduce yourself and say some things about who you are and what you do

How to order food in restaurants

General Russian manners when you're invited home (don't shake hands over a doorstep, take your shoes off, bring a present from your country, etc.)

The most important thing is to show that you're willing to learn new things and have an interest in the Russian culture (русская культура) and people.

How can I keep in touch with my friends and family back home?

With Wi-Fi available everywhere, you can simply use WhatsApp to chat and call. Or any other chat app that your friends and family use. You can also get a Russian sim card if you're travelling outside of the cities and/or for a longer period of time.

Is food and water safe?

Russian food is incredibly delicious. I've never had a problem because of eating bad food. The only thing I'd avoid is street vendors who are selling fruits, because they might not wash them correctly.

Water, on the other hand is something different. Do not drink tap water (вода из-под крана). It's not that you'll catch bad bacteria right away, but the quality is just bad. So make sure you have some bottled water with you at home.

One exception to this is that more people are installing a water purifier tap in their kitchen. It's a small tap and you can safely drink from that one. You'll easily recognize it as it is much smaller than a regular tap and only gives a little stream of water. There's no need to guess though, as your host will usually inform you when this type of tap is installed.

Can taxis be trusted? What's the best way of getting around?

I think it's better to take an Uber (or Yandex Taxi---it's the same company) instead of a regular taxi, as the review system will make sure that your driver is a normal guy that can be trusted. Recently they also started showing the total ride fare upfront for driving from A to B. So you won't have to worry about taxi drivers taking a longer route on purpose to make you pay more---or that the traffic jam (пробка) you just caught is going to double your fare.

When you're flying to Moscow you can take train shuttles from the center to/from some of the airports: Domodedovo (Домодедово), Sheremetyevo (Шереметьево) and Vnukovo (Внуково).

Also, if you're just staying in the center, try to use the metro as often as possible. It's the cheapest, fastest and easiest way of getting around.

I would like to thank Arie for taking the time to share his experiences, especially since they are fairly recent. Is his perception of Russia sound similar to yours? Why or why not?

Chat - for practice write (use the autocorrect feature on your phone;-)), voice Russian (+ you can send the recording of your prepared speech), asking questions about the Russian language. Do not be afraid to make mistakes!

This Lingvo dictionary bot is useful to those who are learning the Russian language - it will in a split second tell you how to translate a particular word. For each word, it shows several translations at once - you just have to choose the right one. It translates any English and Russian words with excellent Lingvo translator. Simply send him any Russian or English word and it will translate it!

Another one dictionary - a simple bot gives out several variants of translations for a word or a phrasal verb introduced in Russian or English.

In many fantastic books, the crew of a spaceship that has landed on an unknown planet is given an aboriginal pocket translator. Attaching the device to clothing, earthlings magically begin to understand the local language. Bot Yandex Translator - a kind of analog of such a device; it, however, serves to talk not with aliens, but with foreigners. If you want to chat in Telegram with a person who speaks a language you do not know, add Yandex Translator to the chat room. The bot will translate your replicas and replicas of your interlocutor so that you understand each other.

Accents bot. If you do not know how to pronounce a particular word, send it to this assistant. The bot will immediately send an answer. The database of this bot has about 600 000 words with correctly spaced accents.

FM-receiver is not on every smartphone, not to mention the tablets, but the need to listen to the radio sometimes still arises. This bot is listening to all popular radio stations around the clock and can at any time give you a recording of the airwaves by the hour.

Lets talk in English first shall we?
I've been trying to learn Russian for the last 4 weeks. Your language is amazing, dont get me wrong, im just having a really hard time to learn it. I wanted to ask if someone could look at my text and tell me what is wrong about it.
I am only making small teksts for now, because that is all i can make, but it's something:

I'm an American with no knowledge of the Russian language. I'm planning a trip to Europe sometime soon and was hoping to build it around seeing WWII or Soviet era sights. So I'm wondering if saint Petersburg's Soviet/WWII sights are worth traveling across the world for and if it's accessible to people who don't know Russian. Thanks!

I'm 17 and a native English speaker and I've been learning Russian for a while now but one thing keeps bugging me. My accent. I have been watching people commentate on games I like in Russian to help with my accent but I feel like I'm still way off. What are some common mistakes from Americans when speaking Russian and what are some valuable tips to chiseling away my American accent? Спасибо!